Aaron Hester announced his presence with authority during UCLA passing drills, shouting, "I'm coming after you," at receiver Morrell Presley after an incomplete pass. Hester has the swagger to be cornerback. He ran step for step with Chris Forcier, who is billed as having 4.43 speed in the 40. Hester has the speed to be a cornerback. He cut across the middle, leaped, and picked off a pass. Hester has the ability to be a cornerback. Now comes the tricky part.

Alabama will bring a lineup powered by a record number of Associated Press All-Americans to the national championship game. Six players on the top-ranked Crimson Tide, including Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram , made the AP All-America team released Tuesday. Ingram was a unanimous choice, as was linebacker Rolando McClain . Defensive tackle Terrence Cody was voted to the team for the second consecutive season. Cornerback Javier Arenas , guard Michael Johnson and kicker Leigh Tiffin also were on the squad.

Matthew Stafford's playing status is up in the air for the Detroit Lions' game Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. That's all we know about the Lions' starting quarterback following Coach Jim Schwartz's meeting with the press Monday -- which is basically what we already knew before Schwartz's comments. “I don't have any comment on how anything went with him,” Schwartz said of Stafford, who was scheduled to have an MRI after straining a muscle in his right leg during the Lions' 44-41 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Eight USC players and two UCLA players were voted to the all-Pacific 10 first team and USC's Pete Carroll was voted coach of the year, the conference announced Monday. Carroll, who guided the Trojans to a record fifth consecutive conference championship, shared the honor in 2003 and 2005. The teams and award winners are selected by vote of conference coaches. "It's nice recognition from the fellas," Carroll said.

UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price was named the Pacific 10 Conference's defensive player of the year Monday. Price was so dominant that he received the honor despite the fact the 6-6 Bruins finished eighth in conference with a 3-6 record. Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, a Heisman Trophy finalist, was named the offensive player of the year and Oregon's Chip Kelly is the coach of the year. Price, a junior who may declare for the NFL draft, led the conference with 22.5 tackles for a loss, which ranks him third nationally.

Champ Bailey will eventually wind up in Canton. But he thought he would stay in Denver a little longer. According to multiple reports, the Denver Broncos intend to release Bailey, a future Hall of Fame cornerback who earned eight of his record 12 Pro Bowl invitations in the Mile High City. Bailey, who met with team brass Wednesday, told the Denver Post that he thought the team might approach him with a renegotiation of his $10-million salary but there was no such offer made. “There were no discussions about it,” he told the newspaper.

UCLA found a way to handle Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama once before. The Bruins sent him to the hospital. Tuitama was knocked out of the 2006 game at the Rose Bowl, a 27-7 UCLA victory. But when not spending time in the ER, Tuitama has left the Bruins in need of an IV. In 2005, he threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns in a 52-14 Arizona victory over a previously undefeated UCLA team. Last season, he threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-27 victory.

UCLA players might want to avoid looking at the calendar. With this afternoon's game against Oregon State at the Rose Bowl, they enter hostile territory. As linebacker Reggie Carter put it: "November hasn't really been our best friend." Over the last 10 seasons, the Bruins have gone 12-16 in the penultimate month of the year.